I AM A ROCK

By Debbie Bulloch




Last Sunday I was riding my bike along the beach when I came across “rock art.” No, I am not talking about some rock musician strumming her guitar belting out tunes to the incoming waves. I am referring to the secret artists in our community who take ordinary rocks and stack them up to make “rock art.”

Here are some pictures of some rock art that I saw last Sunday. What these photographs fail to capture, however, is the complex interaction between the different rocks on the “pile.” No camera lens, no matter how sharp it may be, can possibly capture the interplay between rocks - the sharp angles, the soft curves, the different hues, and the changing textures.











OK, this photograph has nothing to do with rocks. But the sight of this dog, joyfully following its surfing buddy into the water made me feel happy inside so I decided to include it here.

In this day of color, digital photography our senses are often assaulted with splashes of bright color photographs. I decided to “play around” with Photoshop to see what would happen if I removed the color from a couple of the photographs. The photos below are my weak attempt at emulating Ansel Adam’s brilliant black and white photographs of some of the West’s most beautiful scenery.



This last photograph reminds me of one of my favorite Simon and Garfunkel songs. I will post the lyrics to the song here, so you can savor the poetry of Paul Simon’s words.

I AM A ROCK

A winter's day
In a deep and dark December;
I am alone,
Gazing from my window to the streets below
On a freshly fallen silent shroud of snow.
I am a rock,
I am an island.

I've built walls,
A fortress deep and mighty,
That none may penetrate.
I have no need of friendship; friendship causes pain.
It's laughter and it's loving I disdain.
I am a rock,
I am an island.

Don't talk of love,
Well I've heard the word before;
It's sleeping in my memory.
I won't disturb the slumber of feelings that have died.
If I never loved I never would have cried.
I am a rock,
I am an island.

I have my books
And my poetry to protect me;
I am shielded in my armor,
Hiding in my room, safe within my womb.
I touch no one and no one touches me.
I am a rock,
I am an island.

And a rock feels no pain;
And an island never cries.
- lyrics by Paul Simon

One final note; my computer is acting kaput, so I am going to take it in for repairs. That means that I may not be around for a few days. Until then, have a wonderful weekend and a wonderful week.